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　　The first person to reach the South Pole was Ronald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer．Amundsen was born in Borge, near Oslo, Norway．He attended the University of Christina and then joined the Norwegian navy．

　　Amundsen made a three-year expedition^⑧ in Arctic beginning in 1903．He was the first to navigate^⑨ the Northwest Passage, a northern water route from the Atlantic to the Pacific．But Amundsen’s great voyage began in 1910, at the other end of the Earth．

　　He intended to go to the North Pole, but he heard that Robert Peary had already reached it．So instead, Amundsen headed to the South Pole in his ship, Fram．He learned that a British expedition, led by Robert F．Scott was also on its way there．Amundsen reached Antartica in January, 1911．He and his men had to wait out the bitter cold, windy winter on the edge of the ice before they could head for the South Pole．

　　In October(Antartica’s spring), they set out, with 52 well-trained dogs to pull their sleges(雪橇)．On the way to the Pole, they climbed glaciers(冰山)，went around huge cracks in the ice, and survived freezing blizzards(暴风雪)．Finally, on December 14, 1911, Amundsen placed the Norwegian flag at the South Pole．Scott and his men found the flag there when they reached the Pole a month after Amundsen’s party．

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　　Most rain forests lie to the equator(赤道), where the climate is often mild and there are long hours of sunshine．The warmth of the land heats the air above, causing it to rise and tiny drops of water to fall as rain．The rainfall can reach at least 98 inches a year．This wet, warm world with plenty of sunlight is perfect for plants to grow, so the trees grow fast with green leaves all the year round．The trees themselves also have an effect on the climate．They gather water from the soil and pass it out into the air through their leaves．The wet air then forms clouds, which hang over the treetops like smoke．These clouds protect the forest from the daytime heat and night-time cold of nearby deserts, keeping temperatures fit for plant growth．

　　Rain forests slightly farther away from the equator remain just as warm, but they have a dry season of three months or more when little rain falls．Tree leaves fall during this dry season and new leaves grow when the wet season or monsoon(雨季)begins．Thus these areas are known as the “monsoon forest”．

　　Another type of rain forest grows on tropical mountains．It is often called the “cloud forest” because clouds often hang over the trees like fog．

　　The rain forest is the ideal place for the growth of many different trees．Most of them depend on animals to eat their fruits and spread their seeds．When the fruits are eaten, the seeds inside them go undamaged through animals’ stomachs and are passed out in their droppings．The seeds lying on the forest floor then grow into new trees．

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　　When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog．Her body was numb(麻木的)．She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours．Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions．Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast．

　　On that fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so thick that she could hardly see her support boats．Sharks swam toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots(步枪射击)．Against the frigid(寒冷的)grip(控制)of the sea, she struggled on－hour after hour－while millions watched on national television．

　　Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement．They told her it wasn’t much farther．But all she could see was fog．They urged^⑥ her not to give up．She never had．．．until then．With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out．

　　One good return deserves another．好心要用好心报。

　　Still thawing(使变暖和)her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, “Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it．” It was not fatigue^⑦ or even the cold water that defeated her．It was the fog．She was unable to see her goal．

　　Two months later, she tried again．This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact(完整无损的)and her goal clearly pictured in her mind．She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it!Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing(超越)the men’s record by two hours!

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　　Discover the beautiful, silent, white world of Antarctic on the holiday of a lifetime．Head south to Buenos Aires then transfer to the world’s most southern city, Ushuaia．From there it’s about 1000 kilometers on a special icebreaker ship to the freezing temperature of Antactica．

　　Getting off the ship and taking your first step onto the ice, you will imagine what it was like to be an explorer．Meet Adlelie penguins sitting on their edge, or see an Antarctic seal that lives all the year round on the ice．But do not get closer than five meters to any animal, in case you frighten it or make it angry．

　　The friendly crew of the ship will look after you as you explore the ice continent．We promise you fantastic meals and a comfortable bed－you sleep in a four-person cabin－as well as many special treats^④．If you don’t think it is cold enough, try the “polar plunge”(极地跳水)－jump into a special hole dug in the ice and dip your head under the water．You can then jump into a hot tub^⑤ and if you succeed we will give you a certificate(证书)．

　　After you wake up for the first time in the Antarctic you will understand why everybody who goes there falls in love with the place．The scenery is different every day because the sea ice is always moving．

　　Our ships travel to Antarctica from November to March－phone today and book your dream holiday!

ADVENTURE IN THE HIMALAYAS

Marco Polo and His Travels

The RACE to the POLE

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　　Man is a land animal, but he is also closely tied to the sea．Throughout history the sea has served the needs of man．The sea has provided man with food and a convenient way to travel to many parts of the world．Today, nearly two-thirds of the world’s population live within 80 kilometers of the sea coast．

　　In the modern technological world, the sea offers many resources to help mankind survive．Resources on land are beginning to be used up．The sea, however, still can be hoped to supply many of man’s needs．

　　The list of riches(财富)of the sea yet to be developed by man’s technology is impressive．Oil and gas explorations have been carried out for nearly 30 years．Valuable amounts of minerals exist on the ocean floor ready to be mined．

　　Fish farming promises to be a good way to produce large quantities of food．The culture of fish and shellfish is an ancient skill practiced in the past mainly by oriental people．

　　Besides oil and gas, the sea may offer new sources of energy．Experts believe that the warm temperature of the ocean can be used in a way similar to the steam in a steamship．Ocean currents and waves offer possible use as a source of energy．

　　Technology is enabling man to explore ever more deeply under the sea．The development of strong, new materials has made this possible．

　　The technology to harvest the sea continues to improve．Experts believe that by the year 2000 the problems that prevent us from exploiting fully the food, minerals, and energy sources of the sea will have been largely solved．

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　　For more than two days in September 1974, the People of Honduras shut their windows，locked their doors and covered in their homes．Fifi was outside．and they were frightened．

　　By the time Fifi had left，8000 people were dead．Fifi wasn’t a pet dog as the name suggests．It was a hurricane(飓风)，one of the most destructive^⒂ natural phenomena(现象)in the world．

　　Why did we give human names to storms and hurricanes?

　　We didn’t always．Two hundred years ago，many hurricanes in the Caribbean were named after the saint’s(基督教徒的)day on which the storm occurred．Later，storms were known by the name of the city where they came ashore．

　　Meteorologists(气象学家)then tried naming storms after the latitude(纬度)and longitude(经度)where they occurred．

　　Finally，in 1953，hurricanes started getting people’s names－specifically，female names．Male names were added in 1979．

　　There are six sets of names for what the experts call “Atlantic tropical cyclones”(热带风暴)．

　　Each list is used every six years and consists of 2l names，starting with every letter but Q, U, X, Y and Z．The names alternate between male and female．

　　A storm won’t get a name until its winds reach 39 mph or about 62.4 kph，at which point it becomes a tropical storm．At 74 mph or 118.4 kph it’s declared a hurricane．

　　The 126 names on the list are used only for storms that form off the Atlantic coast of the US．There are separate lists for the Pacific．

　　So what happens if a hurricane should cross from the Atlantic to the Pacific?It’s happened before．The storm just gets a new name and sometimes a new sex．

　　Max Mayfield is the director of the National Hurricane Centre，headquartered in Miami，Florida．He’s in charge of(负责)picking new names for storms off the Atlantic coast．

　　He doesn’t do it alone, though．His counterparts in two dozen other countries in Caribbean， Central America and North America vote on what names will replace retired names．

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　　People living on parts of the south coast England face a serious problem．In 1993，the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered, to their surprise that their gardens had disappeared overnight．The sea had eaten into the soft limestone cliff(石灰石悬崖)on which they had been built．While experts were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether, sliding down the cliff and into the sea．

　　Erosion(侵蚀)of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a problem but it has become more serious in recent years．Dozens of homes have had to be abandoned^⑿as the sea has crept farther and farther inland．Experts have studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people, forecasting^⒀the year in which their homes will be eaten up by the hungry sea．

　　Angry owners have called on the Government to erect sea defenses to protect their homes．Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases, this is impossible．New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would merely make the waves and currents go further along the coast, shifting the problem from one area to another．The danger is likely to continue, they say, until the waves reach an inland area of hard rock which will not be eaten as limestone is．Meanwhile, if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain future, apply(申请)to a house agent in one of the threatened^⒁ areas on the south coast of England．You can get a house for a knockdown price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home．

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　　New Zealand was the heavenly land of birds．New Zealand’s biota(生物圈)was so strange that it would be dismissed as science fiction if the fossil(化石)record were not there to prove it．There were some 70 kinds of birds found nowhere else in the world, more than a third of them were flightless and almost a quarter of them night moving．Many of the birds led their life in the environment, in which mammals(哺乳动物)developed．

　　?The early European explorers and naturalists compared New Zealand with a lost Arcadia, the Garden of Eden(伊甸园)before the fall(人类的堕落)．Although they had no concept(概念)of continental movement, they realized that New Zealand must have been separated before the development of large mammals．Today, New Zealand’s forests are quiet, empty of birds compared to those of pre-human times．The valuable and weak animals died out because of hunting, natural surrounding destruction and the introduction of cruel beasts．All we now have left are the remains^⑾of a lost animal．

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　　Except for the sun, the moon looks the biggest object in the sky．Actually it is one of the smallest, and only looks big because it is so near to us．Its diameter(直径)is only 2160 miles(3389 km), or a little more than a quarter of the diameter of the earth．

　　Once a month, or, more exactly, once every 29.5 days, at the time we call “full moon”, its whole disc looks bright．At other times only part of it appears bright, and we always find that this is the part which faces towards the sun, while the part facing away from the sun appears dark．People could make their pictures better if they kept this in mind－only those parts of the moon which are lighted up by the sun are brighter．This shows that the moon gives no light of its own．It only throws back the light of the sun, like a huge mirror hung in the sky．

　　Yet the dark part of the moon’s surface is not completely black; usually it is just light enough for us to be able to see its shape, so that we speak of seeing “the old moon in the new moon’s arms”．The light by which we see the old moon does not come from the sun, but from the earth．We know well how the surface of the sea or of snow, or even of a wet road, may throw back uncomfortably much of the sun’s light on to our faces．In the same way the surface of the whole earth throws back enough of the sun’s light on to the face of the moon for us to be back to see the parts of it which would otherwise be dark．